Count Johannes Mercer has never been this stressed out. Not when the world went to hell, not when that hell brought monsters that ate his people, not when Malencia went silent. Malencia as a whole was always suspicious, too many fortunate things happening to it over the course of lifetimes. All nobles stayed in contact with each other through frequent letters, this was how they knew the king was coming with an army to bring aid. Around that time, Malencia dropped out of this chain of letters altogether and withdrew. After that, The Grand Army just... ditched him. They went to ''subjugate Malencia'', a phrase with many meanings that are all bad. Now to make matters worse, he hasn''t heard back from The Grand Army, they were supposed to aid him in securing his domain, didn''t even spare a single man for his efforts. It was bad enough to be at the end of the chain, yet somehow Malencia''s potential defection worries him more, what is going on there that he doesn''t know?


    Mercer sighs in pure exhaustion as he trots back from his office to his bedroom late in the evening, his eyes are baggy, but as he turns the light on to make ready, he can tell he''s not alone.


    The mermaid doesn''t try to hide, he''s not sure if she could with her size, he''s not sure if he wants to know if she could anyway. For a moment he simply stares at her, both unmoving.


    "Greetings count, and congratulations. I am here to offer you a once in a lifetime deal, your territory is the only other territory The Grand Army never formally took over, and as such I would like to insist you join forces with us, it would be a shame if we had to force you to." In front of the count isn''t just any mermaid, but a corrupted being. Scars in places that should have resulted in fatal wounds, armor clearly not from this world, and a great sense of... insignificance. If a Malencian that should have been killed by The Grand Army is here, then what happened out there?


    "G-Guards... GUARDS!" Mercer can''t handle the implications, he doesn''t even care how the mermaid got in his bedroom all of a sudden. He runs out of his room as he calls for more guards, if Faerune couldn''t stop Malencia his guards won''t either, so he just runs.


    "What fun!" Esstrey smiles as she watches the count''s retinue enter the room while the count flees, they were never far away. Their weapons are short, and unsuited to taking down Esstrey, but they only need to cover their retreating liege.


    Something Esstrey knows all too well as she simply barrels through the soldiers, bravery was their greatest weapon, but you can''t stab someone with that. The men that were thrown at the floor are engulfed by beings that step out of the shadows, Malencian surveillance making short work of the mess Esstrey leaves behind. One of the men had shut the heavy door to the bedroom, but Esstrey breaks that down all the same. The count is a quick runner, but in his panic he keeps calling for more guards to intercept Esstrey, a fatal mistake as she doesn''t even need to rely on blood magic to track him down. She swims after the voice, determined to make it sing a different tune.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    A squad of guards that heard Mercer''s screams of terror intercept Esstrey, considering their pole arms they must have come from a larger room or outside, their weapons are far more suited for dealing with Esstrey, as they actually have reach. Esstrey goes down low to the floor, and rushes through their quickly formed spear wall. The weapons deflect off her armor, and she manages to get in between their formation where she pushes one side into the wall, and slaps the others off their feet with her tail.


    Esstrey''s rampage doesn''t go entirely unhindered. Mercer survived the collapse without committing any heresy, while never receiving aid from Faerune. Troops close-by with heavier weapons than swords is indicative of that, along with a final surprise that slams Esstrey in the face just when she tries to barrel through. Mercer shut the large door to the outside on her, and it seems he installed a door bar on the outside, locking it in place. As a response, Esstrey picks up one of the soldiers, and uses him as a battering ram. During her abuse of him, he loses all strength in his body, and his internal magic becomes depleted in the attempt of reinforcing his body against the injuries. Esstrey follows it up, by grabbing the soldier using blood magic instead, and breaks him violently through the door using it.


    On the other side is Mercer, and he clearly has half a mind to flee further, even as two dozen crossbowmen have taken aim around the door. They don''t fire yet, as they see that Esstrey holds their battered comrade in front of her like a shield. The poor soul looks like he''s better off dead, but these soldiers don''t have many other people than each other to rely upon. None want to be the one to put him out of his misery.


    "Mercer, I really meant it when I said I hoped you would cooperate. I know I will be doing plenty of forcing people to cooperate in the future." As the soldiers momentarily ponder what the monster in front of them means, a white light erupts from the bleeding man, and soon he''s a bleeding man no longer.


    Now there is a female Mazurian demon being gently put down by the mermaid, she gives Esstrey a short bow before making a magical barrier in front of the two, adding a little defense to Esstrey''s side. The demon looks more savage and animalistic than its Infernal Host counterparts, and lacks the innate connection to energy all the infernals have, but their talent in attaining a wide variety of magics is far higher, along with knowing some of the more advanced spells due to their genes.


    Mercer can only look in horror at what Esstrey just did, but he is thinking about her offer now. Will she even keep her promise? Wouldn''t she be able to just turn them all?


    He looks to his men armed with crossbows, while the massive mermaid is dressed in the heaviest armor he''s ever seen. She didn''t care when they pointed their crossbows at her before she had a magical barrier protecting her.


    Could he even truly hurt her if he tries?


    "I-I am open to negotiations... with Malencia" In the end, Mercer is a coward. He''s lived because of cowardice, and he knows one day he will die a coward.